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Witchcraft
Witchcraft is a form of Hedge magic that nearly anyone can learn so long as they have a teacher. Witchcraft or simply "the Craft" is a simplified, watered down of static magic found in Numina. Witcraft is not totally understood for how it works just that it does, for some people if the directions are followed and nothing decides to interfere. Conditions *Witchcraft is not 'magic'. It is not flexible in its application or format. If you want the effect you have to follow the directions exactly. Any deviation and the 'spell' doesn't work. *Witchcraft is ritualized in nature. One does not whisper up a wind or throw fireballs. These spells / rituals can take a while to set up and only last for so long. *Witchcraft is not a technological phenomena. It's not science. There may be no rhyme or reason for why something works just know that it does - mostly. There's always a chance that it will either not work, back fire or have an unknown or unanticipated effect. *Witchcraft does not like technology. Books of Rituals are not stored on a tablet. LED candles can not be substituted for beeswax, etc. The proximity of technology (and its complexity) can impact the efficacy of one's spells. So if you want to make sure that what you're doing will work - don't do it in the middle of a techno-centric environment. Acquisition People learn the Craft in a number of ways but the most common is through a teacher. It's not impossible to learn various spells / rituals out of a book (assuming that the formulae is accurate) but generally you will need a teacher to help you understand how to make the spells work in the first place. To accomplish this the character who wishes to learn Witchcraft must take the Mentor Merit up to a level equal to the level of magical spell/ritual they wish to perform (at start). Mentor 3 will give the person the ability to conduct up to level 3 rituals, etc. To improve their knowledge of rituals, many students will copy the Occult Library of their mentor so that they can reference it later and or build upon it to increase their own knowledge. Occult Libraries, for the purposes of The Craft are on a point for level association. Each point in Occult Library equates to a level in ritual that they can cast. If they wish to cast a level 5 ritual, they must have 5 points in Occult Library. Performing Rituals All rituals and or spells involve a (Intelligence+Occult) roll with the difficulty starting at 4 and rising due to a number of factors: *+1 difficulty per level of ritual *+1-3 difficulty for presence of digital technology within 20 feet of spell/ritual *-1 difficulty for each additional caster (max -3) *-1 difficulty for use of a properly prepared focus (see below) (max 3) Enchancemens & Curses The Craft can be used to temporarily, positively or negatively affect a target. By virtue of these rituals they can either increase or decrease the dice pool of the target for a given activity. All such rituals involve an item of personal significance to the target. Hair clippings, photographs, necklaces, etc. Anything that is unique to that person. The enchantement or curse can be broken by the target through an expendature of willpower to overcome the effects (one willpower per ritual level) Example Rituals *Level 1 (Curse / Blessing): The 'witch is able to affect the performance of a target by 1 in a single physical, mental or social attribute until dawn of the next morning. Cast time: 20 minutes. Example: A witch can curse a person's physical abilities. All strength rolls for that person are now subtracted by 1 for the remainder of the day. * Level 3 (Curse / Blessing): The 'witch' is able to affect their performance by 1 in either the Physical, Mental or Social Attributes until dawn of the next morning. Cast time: 60 minutes. Example: A witch can curse a person's physical abilities. All physical rolls for that person are now subtracted by 1 for the remainder of the day. Summonings & Wardings The Craft can be used to summon or ban supernatural creatures for a short time. Summonings and Wardings all involve the creation of sacred or magically charged circles and barriers. Summonings of individuals require an item of personal significance as well as their name. Wardings can be made against a certain person (if an object is possessed) or of a type of person so long as they have something of that group. (vampire blood to ward versus vampires, werewolf fur, etc.) To generally keep mortals out, the caster will use thorns as it will make the person less likely to approach. A person can override or resist the effects of the summoning or Warding with an expendature of willpower (one willpower per ritual level) Example Rituals *Level 1 (Summoning / Warding): The caster is able to send a summons to the target. The target rolls willpower vs 6 versus the caster's success. If the caster wins, the target will feel a slight mental pull towards the area. The number of successes in the caster's favor will indicate the strength of the pull. This should be seen as no more than a person suddenly getting the idea of wanting to go to the mall (for no known reason). This pull is not absolute and can be overridden by life-threatening or otherwise socially relevant changes to their goal. The person will get to the location (or avoid it in the case of a warding) if they are able to. Cast time: 20 minutes. Duration: Dawn *Level 3 (Summoning / Warding): The caster is able to send a summons to the target. The target rolls willpower vs 6 versus the caster's success. If the caster wins, the target will feel a stronger mental pull towards the area. The number of successes in the caster's favor will indicate the strength of the pull. This means that the person will now sacrifice their other priorities (other than putting themselves in danger) to get to the location or avoid it. Cast time: 40 minutes. Duration: Dawn *Level 5 (Summoning / Warding): The caster is able to send a summons to the target or urge them to avoid a location. The target rolls willpower vs 6 versus the caster's success. If the caster wins, the target will feel a slight mental pull towards the area. The number of successes in the caster's favor will indicate the strength of the pull. At this point, the person =is= willing to put their life in danger to get to or to avoid a location. Cast time: 60 minutes. Duration: Dawn Scrying Through the use of a reflection surface, a caster is able to see into other areas of the world. This, like Summoning rituals, requires a personal object of the person that one is trying to observe. A target can detect the presence of another (though they may not know who is the source or even where they are) with a successful Perception+Alertness roll difficulty of 5. The target need only score a number of successes equal to the level of the ritual to detect its presence. Example Rituals *Level 1 (Scry): The caster is able to know the location of the target with a successful Intel+Occult check. The number of successes indicates how narrow a margin of error to the location is involved. The caster will see an image in the surface of where the person is located. Cast time: 10 minutes. Duration: Instant at completion. *Level 3 (Scry): The caster is able to observe the actions of the target with a successful Intel+Occult check. The number of successes indicates how clear they are able to observe the target. The caster will see an image in the surface of where the person is located and be able to follow them for the duration of the spell. Cast time: 20 minutes. Duration: 1 minute per success *Level 5 (Scry): The caster is able to know the location of the target, observe their actions and hear their words (and anyone else in the immediate area) with a successful Intel+Occult check. The number of successes indicates how narrow a margin of error to the location is involved. The caster will see an image in the surface of where the person is located and be able to follow them for the duration of the spell as well as hear them. Cast time: 30 minutes. Duration: 1 minute per success Healing Healing rituals are generally risky as they may cause more harm than good. Healing rituals also always involve some degree of sacrifice as energy must be taken to heal the target. There are no known spells to cause direct injury. Example Rituals *Level 1 (Heal): The caster is able to heal one level of non-aggravated damage on the target for every 1 level of non-aggravated damage they take. This damage can also be spread among the casters of the ritual and so many times this spell will have multiple persons involved. Cast Time 20 Minutes: Duration: Instant at Cast. *Level 3 (Heal): The caster is able to heal one level of aggravated damage on the target for every 1 level of aggravated damage they take. This damage can also be spread among the casters of the ritual and so many times this spell will have multiple persons involved. Cast Time 40 Minutes: Duration: Instant at Cast. *Level 4 (Heal): The caster is able to heal one level of non-aggravated damage on the target by stealing the damage from the target and placing it onto a specific, prepared target. Unlike the previous versions of the spell, this ritual allows all of the damage of the target to be transferred to a single, non-casting target. The target must be present and within the circle at the time that the ritual is cast. Cast Time 60 Minutes: Duration: Instant at Cast. *Level 5 (Heal): The caster is able to heal one level of aggravated damage on the target by stealing the damage from the target and placing it onto a specific, prepared target. Unlike the previous versions of the spell, this ritual allows all of the damage of the target to be transferred to a single, non-casting target. The target must be present and within the circle at the time that the ritual is cast. Cast Time 60 Minutes: Duration: Instant at Cast. Foci Those in the Craft can prepare as a form of Enchantment, a specific item to aid them in their work. The very nature of the item varies for each caster (dagger, wand, staff, etc.) but requires a level 3 Enhancement Ritual to be cast and one permanent willpower point spent (per item) to 'infuse' it with their ability to cast. Lost Rites There are plenty of rituals that have been lost to the ravages of time and the Fall. These rituals are said to be the most powerful of the rites and many a 'Witch' has been trying to recreate their effects - often with disastrous consequences. Level 5 Rituals * Hexenwulf * Lycanthrope * Risen Category:Convention/Magic